This invention relates to electronic ballast apparatus for coupling a potential source to a load in the form of gaseous discharge lamps and more specifically to electronic ballast apparatus for coupling a high frequency inverter means to a pair of gaseous discharge lamps.
Present-day ballast apparatus commonly employs an auto-transformer for coupling a potential source to a pair of fluorescent lamps. As is well known, such apparatus is undesirably heavy and cumbersome to use with fluorescent lamp fixtures. Also, such apparatus is relatively inefficient, generates undesired heat, is undesirably wasteful of energy, and operates at a frequency (60Hz) which frequently causes undesired audio problems.
Another known form of ballast apparatus is the saturable core transformer. Therein, core saturation characteristics are utilized to limit current flow. However, saturation characteristics are most difficult to accurately control which inhibits the attainment of a desired reliability capability for such apparatus.